Welcome to SPINEgroup

The human spine has:

220 specialized ligaments
More than 120 individual muscles
Over 100 intricate joints
24 movable vertebrae

5 sacral and 3-5 coccygeal vertebrae
31 pairs of spinal nerves
23 intervertebral discs
3 major types of joints

The sacrum and coccyx are composed of fused vertebrae and are also considered part of the spinal column.
The cervical vertebrae are the most mobile of the 24 spinal vertebrae.
The 12 thoracic vertebrae articulate with 12 pair of ribs. The thoracic spine is designed for minimal movement.
The large stocky lumbar vertebrae are designed to support the weight of the body.

Prevalence of back pain in Ontario is estimated at 64% of the adult population per year¹
Four out of five adults will experience low back pain sometime during their lifetime¹
After the common cold problems related to the low back are the most frequent cause of lost workdays in individual over 45 years of age²
Back pain ranks second to headaches as the most frequent location for pain
The estimated cost of back pain in Ontario is 2.4 billion dollars per year considering lost productivity, medical expenses and worker’s compensation benefits³

¹Coyte PC, Asche CV, Croxford R, Chan B: The economic cost of musculoskeletal disorders in Canada. Arthritis Care & Research 1998, 11:315-25.

²Woolf AD, Pfleger B: Burden of major musculoskeletal conditions. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003, 81:646-656.
³Badley EM, Webster GK, Rasooly I: The impact of musculoskeletal disorders in the population: are they just aches and pains?
Findings from the 1990 Ontario health survey. J Rheumatol 1995; 22: 733-739